The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Chouteau County Sheriff's Office, Is now doing fingerprints electronically

Fingerprints have been used as a means of identification dating back well over two thousand years. Over the past century, the fingerprinting process has become more sophisticated, and it has been put to many more uses.

The first documented fingerprints were taken in India in 1858 by Sir William J. Hershel. Soon thereafter advances were made on several fronts, and Sir Edward Henry devised a classification system around the turn of the 20th century that is still in practice today.

The first evidence of the use of fingerprints in the United States was by a surveyor in New Mexico by the name of...